Tanjore painting (Tamil Language: தஞ்சாவூர் ஓவியம், Thanjavur Oviyam) is an important form of classical South Indian painting native to the town of Thanjavur (anglicized as Tanjore) in Tamil Nadu. The art form dates back to about 1600CE, a period when Nayakas of Tanjavur encouraged art- chiefly, classical dance and music as well as literature both in Telugu and Tamil.
Tanjore Paintings are known for their surface richness, vivid colours and compact composition. Essentially serving as devotional icons, the themes of most of these paintings are Hindu gods and goddesses, and saints as well. Episodes from Hindu tradition are drawn upon as elaboration to the main figure / figures placed in the central section of the picture. Tanjore paintings are in fact panel paintings (done on solid wood planks ) and hence were also referred to as 'palagai padam'( palagai - wooden plank ; padam- picture) in local parlance. In modern times, these paintings have become a much sought after as souvenir during festive occasions in South India; or as pieces to decorate the walls ; or as collectors' item by art lovers.
The process of making a Tanjore painting involves many stages. The first stage involves the making of the preliminary sketch of the image on the base. The base consists of a cloth pasted over a wooden base. Then chalk powder or zinc oxide is mixed with water-soluble adhesive and applied on the base. To make the base smoother, a mild abrasive is sometimes used. After the drawing is made, decoration of the jewellery and the apparels in the image is done with semi-precious stones also known as Jaipur stones. Laces or threads are also used to decorate the jewellery. On top of this, the gold foils are pasted. Finally, dyes are used to add colors to the figures in the paintings.
Materials Required and Board Preparation
The base is a thick hardboard , the thickness has to be appropriately selected to avoid warpage of the board . The board has to be cut to the required size as per the drawing to be made . A thick cardboard which is also cut to the same size as the board is pasted on the board and on it the white 'Kora' cloth is pasted .The board is prepared by using a mixture of chalkpowder and adhesive uniformly applied on the board . After a little drying the preparation is rubbed with sand- paper to give a smooth finish to the board. Usually it takes a day or two to prepare the board since the board has to dry out before further use , obviously it also depends on the size of the board . Once the board surface is dried out and a good smooth finish obtained , it is ready for the drawing stage.Considering the amount of manual work and labour involved in board preparation, nowadays ready made boards are also stocked in the shops which market these paintings.
Drawing and Gessore work
The drawing is then transferred / sketched on to the board . A paste of chalk powder with a strong adhesive is used to do the gessore work , which gives a three dimensional effect and then the stones are embedded into the gessore work.Original paintings of yester years used to have original precious stones .However nowadays only imitations for precious stones or their look alikes and other attractive glass stones are placed for the jewellery and other decorations . However gold sheets continue to be used even today and once the gessore work is ready the gold sheets are pasted over the jewellery , decorations etc.Pearls are added to give a finishing touch .
Painting
The color painting is done with poster colors. Only traditional colors like red , green , rust , yellow , brown , black are used following the age old practice . Dark outlines are put around the gold sheets to give depth to the painting.
Picture Frame
After the painting is completed the painting is framed for display .The type of frame selected for the painting is as important as the process of painting itself , since the frames enhance the beauty of the painting. The frame also protects the painting from dust and termites . Frames can be of different types like Antique look ( Gives an antique look ) , teak wood regular ( Conventional look ) , Double border frame ( Gives a much bigger look to the painting and also a contrast ), Gold frame ( To match with the gold leaves used in the painting ) , Jharokha frame ( Gives a 3 D effect and also antique look ) etc .The prices of the frames vary significantly depending upon the type of frame chosen.
Painting by
Sangeeta Nagpur Maharastra
Mobile
+91-9823467016
+91-9370970357
